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Forget the stereotype about cold Swedes – Gothenburg in the west of the country has just been ranked the most sociable city in the world, in a study of the social life of world cities.

The study, commissioned by hostel booking site Hostelworld, looked at the social behaviour and attitudes of 12,188 residents from 39 different cities in 28 countries. It examined how they socialize and their general openness to others.

And Gothenburg, known for its talkative natives by Swedish standards and its vibrant bar scene, came out on top, beating the likes of Boston, Rome, Hamburg, Dublin and Madrid in the top 10.

Perhaps most satisfyingly for Gothenburg, it also beat Swedish rival Stockholm, which placed second.

In order to rank the top destinations for social experiences, the survey asked respondents about their attitudes to socializing with friends, eating out and partying. And Gothenburg topped three of the ten criteria, as well as placing in the top three of three others.

It placed first in the categories "value placed on socializing", "social priorities vs individual priorities" and "frequency of using social media", while it came in the top three of the categories "trust in friends", "liberality" and "any excuse to party".

Robert Hannah, a Gothenburg MP for the Liberal party who grew up in the city, pointed out that the town likes to make as many excuses as possible to have a party.

"Gothenburgers are the most lively, happy Swedes. We love having fun and make sure to arrange as many parties as possible in the city. We have Way Out West, the Hammarkullen Carnival, Andra Långdagen, the Kulturkalaset feast and loads of concerts. We simply have the most reasons to party!" he told The Local.

Local hero and former Liverpool player Glenn Hysén meanwhile was asked by newspaper Göteborgs Posten for his opinion on what makes the city special, and he couldn't resist a pop at the capital.

"I can compare a little bit with Stockholm. There they don't have anything like the same mood. In Gothenburg you can go and speak with whoever and ask "Hi there, everything going well?". If you ask someone something in Stockholm, or ask for help, they think you're going to kill them," he told GP.

To give credit to the Swedish capital, Stockholm didn't fare badly in the study either. Ranked the second most sociable city in the world after its local rival, it placed first in the "liberality" category, as well as in the top three of the "social priorities vs individual priorities" and "frequency of using social media" categories.